Q&A: God as Beneficent
God as Beneficent
Question
Hello Rabbi, lately I’ve been struggling with how it could be that the Holy One, blessed be He, created us this way, given that He is all-powerful and wants to bestow good. I’d be glad if the Rabbi could help me with this.
Assumptions:
1. The Holy One, blessed be He, is all-powerful
2. The Holy One, blessed be He, is the greatest good
Conclusion: in order to bestow good in the best possible way, the Holy One, blessed be He, would have to create gods like Himself.
Answer
I didn’t understand the argument. It isn’t valid.
First, the highest form of beneficence is not to create a perfect creature, but to give it the best. Second, we have a role to serve Him. He created us because He needs us, and what He needs is for us to perfect ourselves. For that purpose, we must be created lacking. There are columns on the site about perfection, self-perfection, and "work as a divine need"—search for them. And third, it is impossible to create additional gods, because by definition He is one, and by definition God cannot be created. If He was created, then He is not God.
There’s Ramchal, with God as the cause of Himself, and reward through free choice as the closest thing to that—or sort of receiving in order to give.